100 Themes    Ryou Bakura
by Ottji
Summary: My 100 Themes challenge, centered around Ryou Bakura.
1. Introduction

I found this '100 Themes' list on Tumblr and decided to give it a shot. In case you are unfamiliar, here are the rules, at least that I am following:

Focusing on a specific character or pairing, a short piece will be written for each of the 100 Themes. Each piece must be _no more_ and _no less_ than exactly 100 words in length, excluding the title. (I added a slight twist to mine, which is each of these pieces must be 'unhappy' in nature.)

The character of my choice for these 100 Themes is Ryou Bakura.

_Disclaimer: I do not own the original story, characters, or anything related._

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><p><strong>[Introduction]<strong>

A classroom full of stares, of watching eyes. The soft feel of dust on his fingers as the white chalk scrapes against the blackboard, spelling out his name for the thousandth time to a hoard of strangers. Again. He turns to face the room again, the mask of a pleasant smile on his face, brushing his pale hair out of his face, listening to the new teacher introduce him by name, as if the students couldn't read it for themselves. He bows to them, like so many times before. "It's nice to meet you all." The same words as always.

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><p>For those who care, I have temporarily discontinued 'Iridescent.'<p>

Thank you for reading!


	2. Love

****Theme 2 - Centered around Ryou's little sister, Amane.

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><p><strong>[Love]<strong>

She was cute, she was sweet, and her smile was contagious. Her laughter was musical, and she would prance from room to room like a fairy, bouncing along in her sundress no matter what season it was, a cute little bow in her fluffy white hair. She would grab his hands and spin around with him, tripping over her shoes, then dance away to the kitchen, calling brightly for their mother. The house just wasn't the same without her; it was missing something. Smiles, laughter, dancing down the halls… He loved his baby sister, even though she was already gone.

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><p>Thank you for reading!<p> 


	3. Light

****Theme 3 - Centered around Ryou's nightlight.

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><p><strong>[Light]<strong>

It was a soft, pale, baby blue. He looked at it from where he lay on his side, alone in his bed, alone in his room, alone in his house. He looked at it as if it were his friend, and in a way, it was. The gentle glow from the old nightlight was all that had remained the same, from back when his family was whole and lived together happily, to now, when they were all gone, and he lived alone. It was the only thing he had to cling to, the only thing that had yet to change.

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><p>Thank you for reading!<p> 


	4. Dark

****Theme 4 - Centered around Ryou's Achluophobia.

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><p><strong>[Dark]<strong>

He was already in High School, and yet, he was still afraid of the dark. He never told anyone; he knew he'd be laughed at and made fun of even more. "Why are you afraid of the dark, it can't hurt you." He knew that, and he understood it completely, but it wasn't so much the darkness itself that frightened him, it was whatever unknown lay hidden within it. The darkness took his mother, and took his little sister; he didn't know what would happen if he stayed alone in it for too long. He didn't want to risk it.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	5. Seeking Solace

****Theme 5 - Centered around Ryou missing his mother.

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><p><strong>[Seeking Solace]<strong>

When he was small, he would always go to his mother in times of trouble. When he fell and scraped his knee, when he couldn't find his favorite game, mother was always there to help and comfort him. So now, even though he was all alone, with no one there to bring him that same warmth, he would still turn to her. When he would wake in the middle of the night, crying from his dreams, he would creep down the dark hall to her empty room and curl up in her bed, hugging a pillow, pretending it was her.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	6. Break Away

Theme 6 - Centered around Ryou constantly changing schools.

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><p><strong>[Break Away]<strong>

Everywhere he goes, his past follows him. He tries so hard to leave it behind, to try and start fresh somewhere new, but every time he sits down to talk to the principle of his new school, the question he dreads always comes up. "Why did you transfer from your last school?" He pulls together the same answer every time without missing a beat, about how his family had to move because of work or money, but, honestly, he hates the lie. It ties him to the past, to his pain, and to the memories he's trying to leave behind.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	7. Heaven

****Theme 7 - Centered around Ryou's reason for religion.

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><p><strong>[Heaven]<strong>

A lot of students at school brag to each other about how they how they lost their faith due to some 'tragedy' or another, and he tries to keep it from bothering him, but sometimes he has to excuse himself from the room and go somewhere else. Because he believes in God. He believes in a life beyond the one he's in. He has to. If he doesn't, how can he believe that his sister and mother are in a better place, beyond the pain they felt here? How can he know that his own pain will one day end?

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	8. Innocence

****Theme 8 - Centered around Ryou seeing Amane's short life, and abrupt death.

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><p><strong>[Innocence]<strong>

It was the fresh light of a new dawn shining into a pink-decorated room, casting gentle warmth onto the sleeping face a little girl. It was that girl's laughter ringing through the halls of the waking house, rousing the others from sleep. It was her flouncy sundress and cute little shoes and the ribbon in her downy-soft hair. It was the ringing silence that surrounded him as he stood on the sidewalk, staring at her smiling face against the black asphalt and the red that was smeared around her, splattered across the front of the semi-truck that left her there.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	9. Drive

****Theme 9 - What motivates Ryou to get up in the morning.

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><p><strong>[Drive]<strong>

It was the memory of his mother that motivated him to get up in the morning. He would rise and cook himself a breakfast that followed her recipe, then dress himself in the clothes she'd helped him choose, then run off to school. She'd always been so excited to hear about his day at school that, when he arrived home now, he'd sit down and write the events of his day in a journal, writing letters to her. This routine had worked for him every day since she died, but he couldn't help wondering when it just wouldn't be enough.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	10. Breathe Again

****Theme 10 - Ryou reflecting on his Mother's death.

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><p><strong>[Breathe Again]<strong>

The doctors had told him that her lungs gave out first; that she'd laid there, unable to move, suffocating on her collapsed lungs while doctors just stood by, unable to help. The thought brought him to tears sometimes. Other times, he would go to his bedroom and shut the door as if someone might see him, and he would lay on his bed and cover his face with the pillow, covering his mouth and nose until his chest burned and his head spun, and he wondered if this was how she felt before she was unable to draw another breath.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	11. Memory

****Theme 11 - Ryou's conflicted feelings about memories

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><p><strong>[Memory]<strong>

Remembering his life, his past, his family, was both a blessing and a curse in his mind. Remembering all his friends, his past schools, the trust and betrayal, love and hatred, the bullies and the flirty friends, the teachers that praised him then ridiculed him… Some days, he wished he could start all over, no memories, no past, no nothing, a blank slate, something that no harm had been done to, and no good had graced it either. But other times, that thought terrified him. Because, without his memories of all he'd had and lost, what would he have left?

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	12. Insanity

****Theme 12 - Ryou _assuring_ someone he's not crazy. His darker half interrupts.

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><p><strong>[Insanity]<strong>

"I'm not crazy. No. Crazy people are locked up in asylums and live as homeless bums on the streets, crazy people aren't like other people. I talk to my family like a normal person. …What? That's not very nice you know. How would you like it if someone called _you_ just a picture? And for the record, I'm not talking or arguing with _myself_, thank you. No, that's my other self. He's not very nice, we get in fights a lot. Hm? Oh please don't say that, you'll make him angry, and-…. _Get the fuck out of our house._"

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	13. Misfortune

Theme 13 - Ryou's luck

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><p><strong>[Misfortune]<strong>

Terrible luck followed him wherever he went, and he knew it. Sometimes, he considered hiding away in his house and never coming back out, just to save those around him. His mother always told him she wanted him to graduate High School, but… every school he went to, kids got hurt. He'd try to make friends, they'd have fun for a while, but, one day, he'd black out, and the next thing he knew, people were giving him wary looks, whispering that his friends were in comas in the hospital. He just wanted friends, was that too much to ask?

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	14. Smile

****Theme 14 - Ryou's mask

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><p><strong>[Smile]<strong>

He had the prettiest smile. It was gentle and sweet, and a little bit shy; it was a smile that made all the girls around him fall in love almost immediately. Sure, it earned him some mean taunts from the boys in his classes, but the adoring group of girls would always shush them before fawning over him again. He graced the students, the teachers, his neighbors, and even total strangers with his beautiful smile, and everyone knew that such a loving smile could only belong to the happiest of people. Sometimes he wished he didn't have to fake it.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	15. Silence

****Theme 15 - Why Ryou's TV is always on

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><p><strong>[Silence]<strong>

The television was always on. Half the time, he didn't have any idea what channel it was on, or what show was playing, or even if it was the news or not. He didn't really care. He didn't watch TV anyway. But he always turned it on, first then when he got up, first thing when he got home, and left it on until he had to go to bed or leave the house. Without it, the empty place was so quiet it was eerie, and all he could hear were his own self-abusive thoughts. The television filled that void.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	16. Questioning

****Theme 16 - Why Ryou doesn't talk much

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><p><strong>[Questioning]<strong>

He was a quiet boy. His voice was soft and gentle, probably because he rarely used it. If he could answer a question with a nod or a shake of his head, he'd do so. Sometimes his teachers would call on him to answer a question in class, but he would pretend he didn't know the answer. He didn't like talking. He had so many desperate pleas for answers building up in his chest, he was scared that if he opened his mouth for too long, they would spill out and reveal all his hidden pain. He didn't want that.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	17. Blood

****Theme 17 - Why Ryou can't physically self-harm

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><p><strong>[Blood]<strong>

In his darkest hours, his loneliness nights and emptiest mornings, he would sometimes take a razor blade and hold the hairline edge against his soft, unmarked wrist. But then he would stop. He would look at it, he would shake a little as his heart raced so fast, but he wouldn't cut. Eventually he would drop the blade and stagger back, curling into himself, crying and holding his head, because the thought of seeing the crimson blood on his pale skin only made him think of the bloody mess that had been his little baby sister the day she'd died.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	18. Rainbow

****Theme 18 - Ryou's wish never becomes reality

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><p><strong>[Rainbow]<strong>

"Quick! If you don't wish on it, the colors will be sad and go away!" Every time he looked out his window after a rainstorm passed, he would search the skies for a rainbow, for that ribbon of color that had overjoyed his sister so much. Every time he saw one, no matter how faint, he would stop what he was doing and close his eyes, doing exactly as his sister had always instructed. He would wish on the rainbow, and each time, it would be the same wish. "I wish I had my family back." It never came true.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	19. Gray

****Theme 19 - About the day Ryou's mother died

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><p><strong>[Gray]<strong>

"I'm sorry, son, but your mother's gone." Those words just rang in his head, over and over as he staggered out of the hospital, reeling from shock. He looked around. People were walking by, talking and drinking coffee, laughing and discussing and chastising children. Cars zoomed by on the road. Birds sang from the trees. Life went on. He looked up at the pretty blue sky, and he hated it. A kind, loving, beautiful woman had just died in agony with her crying son for company, and the world didn't have the decency to dim its vibrant colors in mourning.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	20. Fortitude

****Theme 20 - Ryou's daily routine

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><p><strong>[Fortitude]<strong>

He would wake every morning and just stare at the ceiling until his precautionary alarm went off. He would get up, make his bed, and get dressed. He would make his breakfast, eat in silence, then take his bag and leave for school. There, he would be silent, alone, invisible. He walked back home at the end of the day, greeted his empty house, and sat down to his homework. When finished, he would make himself dinner, then go to bed. His elderly neighbor said he was brave to continue on alone like that. He disagreed. He was just numb.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	21. Vacation

Theme 21 - Ryou's summer vacations

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><p><strong>[Vacation]<strong>

Summer break. It got him away from the bullies, true, but it also left him more alone than ever. During school, the occasional student would pass him a glace, or a smile, even just out of courtesy, but during the weeks-long vacation… there was nothing. No one. Even his neighbors would leave out-of-town to visit family or friends. Sometimes, he would go out and wander the sidewalks, looking at the bustling people that passed him without a glance, and he would give a fragile, broken smile, pretending that maybe, somewhere in the vacationing crowd, someone was happy to see him.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	22. Mother Nature

****Theme 22 - Ryou's use for nature

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><p><strong>[Mother Nature]<strong>

He wasn't much one for going outside, truthfully. Beyond the lonely confines of his empty apartment was a cruel world, full of a mix of cold-hearted people, and loving souls who would be damaged if they came near him. If he did end up outside, it was usually at the park, alone with a sketch pad, drawing out the trees and grass, adding imagined scenery of a fantasy land, improving his surroundings to make it more bearable, to plan out a game board for later. Beyond that inspiration, he had no use for the nature that so many people praised.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	23. Cat

****Theme 23 - I imagine that cats can sense the spirits of evil Gods.

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><p><strong>[Cat]<strong>

It was raining when he saw the kitten huddled in the soaked box in the alley. He walked over to it, crouching down, his coat rustling. It was a pitiful creature, sopping wet and shaking, looking up at him pleadingly. He smiled sadly at it, listening as it gave a miserable mewl, and he reached his hand down to it, offering help. But then, suddenly, it hissed and puffed up its fur, lashing out at him with tiny, sharp claws. He pulled his hand back, just looking at it. Even the freezing, orphaned kitten didn't want to be around him.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	24. No Time

****Theme 24 - Centered around Ryou's perception of the passage of time

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><p><strong>[No Time]<strong>

He hated the ticking of clocks. Tick tick you're running out of time tick tick tick… It drove him crazy. His baby sister's clock had been cruelly smashed beneath the heel of fate, and his mother's had just ticked and ticked until its allotted time ran out. Whenever he heard a clock and its incessant tick warning tick tick, all he could hear was his own time slowly being chipped off. He had no idea when his clock would run out, or be broken, so all he could ever do was sit and listen as he tick tick ticked away.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	25. Trouble Lurking

****Theme 25 - I imagine anyone would get a little paranoid living alone surrounded by bad luck.

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><p><strong>[Trouble Lurking]<strong>

Some kids were afraid of monsters under their beds. Some feared the creatures in their closets. Others dreaded what lay beyond their bedroom window. When he was younger, he'd had the same fears. He'd jumped at the sight of his shadow, hidden under the covers his house creaked, covered his head with his pillow to block out the sound of the howling wind. But now, he knew those were nothing to be afraid of. Nothing to fear. The real dangers, the true monsters worth fearing were hiding right behind him, out of sight, just waiting for him to turn around.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	26. Tears

****Theme 26 - Centered around Ryou's numerous crying spells

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><p><strong>[Tears]<strong>

He cried when his little sister was run over by a semi-truck. He cried when his mother finally succumbed to her sickness and died in the hospital. He cried when the days came and went and his father never came home. He cried when he was bullied. But then, one day, he came home from school, crying with happiness. He'd made friends, for the first time, and they were coming over to play his favorite game! The next day, he was on his knees, sobbing. His friends were in the hospital and he knew, somehow, it was all his fault.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	27. Foreign

****Theme 27 - Centered around Ryou's bitterness about his father

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><p><strong>[Foreign]<strong>

Once he came to terms with the idea that his dad might never come back, he gathered up all the replica-artifacts that his dad had brought home over the years from all his travels around the world. He piled them in his parent's room, on the floor next to his dad's side of the bed. He was in Japan, while his dad traipsed around in Egypt or God-knows-where, he didn't need reminders of his the man's true passion just sitting around to mock him. He already knew his place. He didn't need pieces of a different country to remind him.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	28. Come With Me

****Theme 28 - Centered around Ryou's nightmares of Amane and his darker half

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><p><strong>[Come With Me]<strong>

Sometimes, when he dreamt, he would hear a soft voice. A happy, cheerful voice, too far away to understand. He would move blindly closer to it until he could hear it's beckoning, inviting words, and he would see a shimmery, pale outline of a little girl, reaching her hand to him. He would reach out to her, to her voice. "Don't be scared, just come with me!" But then the little girl would shudder and warp, her new claws grabbing his wrist, a bloody leer visible against the hazy light, and he would wake up gasping, tears on his cheeks.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	29. Happiness

Theme 29 - Centered around Ryou's inability to understand 'happiness'

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><p><strong>[Happiness]<strong>

He understood the concept, but he didn't know how to put it to practice anymore. Sometimes he would sit at his desk with his sketch pad in front of him, tapping it with the tip of a pencil, trying to figure out how it worked. Whenever he tried to draw it, all he could manage was a cartoony family portrait: a tired but smiling father, a laughing mother holding an overjoyed little sister, and his own cheerful self with his arms out at his sides. He would rip the page out and throw it away. That wasn't happiness. Not anymore.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	30. Memorial

****Theme 30 - Centered around Ryou making a little memorial where Amane died

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><p><strong>[Memorial]<strong>

About once a month, he would visit a very specific stop sign. Under his arm, he would carry a small stuffed animal and a spool of thin ribbon. He hated the sign because it wasn't effective. He would go up to it, see that someone must have stolen his last stuffed animal. Then he would very carefully tie the new one to the cold metal. He hoped that the bright creature would help catch the eye of driver and get them to stop or at least look, so no one else would lose their baby sister. He hated that sign.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	31. Flowers

****Theme 31 - Centered around Ryou visiting his family's graves.

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><p><strong>[Flowers]<strong>

He knew that fake flowers would last longer, and stay in better shape through the various seasons, but he didn't really care. He always bought the nicest, fresh-cut flowers he could find, wrapped them in the prettiest colored tissue paper the store offered, and carried them carefully to the cemetery. He would place one bouquet on his mother's grave, and the other on his sisters; the two were side by side. He knew he wouldn't have to replace fake flowers as often as he did with real ones, but… his family deserved better than fake, plastic plants on their graves.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	32. Night

****Theme 32 - Centered around Ryou being alone with his thoughts at night.

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><p><strong>[Night]<strong>

He dreaded the sunset. Because following its brilliant beauty came darkness, came the lonely quiet of nighttime. In the shadows and the silence when the city slept, he felt more alone than ever. It was like the darkness around him was whispering all his faults and fears, everything he'd done wrong, and everything he could never take back. Mocking, taunting, laughing and criticizing, all night long… So he would bundle up in his blankets, alone in his empty, silent house, and he would sing softly to himself, he would sing to drown the whispering shadows and hopefully get some sleep.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	33. Expectations

****Theme 33 - Centered around the expectations Ryou sees as being held to him

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><p><strong>[Expectations]<strong>

Don't frivolously spend the money that father sends me; I have to pay the bills and rent, and buy my own food. Do well in school; get good grades even though I have to transfer at least once, if not more, in a single school year. Always pray for my sister to be happy; even though she's not here doesn't mean she doesn't have feelings. Pretend to make friends; actually having them is always too dangerous. Keep the house clean; you never know… when someone might come by… Stay safe; it makes sure everyone else is safe too. Stay alone.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	34. Stars

****Theme 34 - Centered around Ryou's feelings of lonely abandonment, compared to the stars

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><p><strong>[Stars]<strong>

When his father first left, he would spend his nights looking out the window at the stars until he got tired. Those little glinting lights so far away always sparked the tiniest hints of jealousy in his young heart; they were all clustered together, winking and blinking at each other, a network of unimaginable friendships in space, spanning everything, everywhere. But, as time passed and he came to grasp that there were incredible distances between each individual star, a bitter sense of satisfaction crept over him when he looked at the inky night sky. He wasn't the only one alone.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	35. Hold My Hand

****Theme 35 - Centered around a phrase in my mind "Who would hold a cursed child's hand?"

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><p><strong>[Hold My Hand]<strong>

A sign of love, of romance, of friendship. Fingers entwined with another's, palms so gently spaced apart, the soft touch of skin on skin, the mutual understanding of care and compassion. He saw it everywhere; on TV, in movies, on the streets he walked, even heard it in various songs. He saw it in classrooms, in the hallways in schools, in the courtyards during lunch. So, one day, sitting on his couch in his house, he looked at his hands and very carefully laced his fingers together. Little tears slid down his cheeks. No one else would hold his hand.

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><p>Thank you for reading!<p> 


	36. Precious Treasure

****Theme 36 - Centered around Ryou watching other parent-child dynamics

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><p><strong>[Precious Treasure]<strong>

Sometimes, as he was walking to school, or home from the store, he would see a mother walking hand-in-hand with her daughter or son, and he would stop, just to watch them. Sometimes the little one would be crying about something; a food they didn't like, a toy they didn't get, and the mother would get angry and shake their arm to try and make them stop. It made him frown. What would _she_ do if her baby suddenly ran out into the road and was taken from her? She wouldn't treat it so roughly if she'd thought of that.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	37. Eyes

****Theme 37 - Centered around Ryou seeing his darker half's eyes in the mirror one morning.

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><p><strong>[Eyes]<strong>

He had no problem looking in mirrors. He had to brush his teeth and comb out his hair, so he ended up looking in the one over his sink at least every morning. But he never looked himself in the eye. He used to, sure, but not anymore. Not after he saw someone else's eyes looking back at him one morning. Someone with cruel eyes, crazy eyes, dark eyes, and it had frightened him so badly he'd thrown his toothbrush at the mirror. Those couldn't have been his eyes, right? He didn't want to risk looking in again to check.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	38. Abandoned

****Theme 38 - Centered around Ryou's father never calling or coming home anymore

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><p><strong>[Abandoned]<strong>

He used to get calls from his father everyday while the man was traveling around. When his sister died, he and his mother got calls every few days. When his mother died, he was lucky to get a call once a week. He would sit by the phone, waiting to hear it ring, every night. Then, his father stopped calling, answering calls with a brief "I'm busy, talk to you later" before hanging up. And still, sitting by the phone, he waited for his father's call, every night. It took a while to sink in that he wasn't wanted anymore.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	39. Dreams

****Theme 39 - Centered around Ryou's dreams of the future as time progresses

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><p><strong>[Dreams]<strong>

He used to want to be a pilot. He wanted to fly through the clouds and play with the birds, like they showed in cartoons. Then, he wanted to be an explorer, an archeologist like his father, so he'd be able to see the man more often when they traveled together. Then, he wanted to be a famous chef, spreading his mother's recipes. Then he wanted to be a doctor, so he could save people like his mother and his sister before they could die. Now, his dream is just to get through the next day without unintentionally hurting anyone.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	40. Lucky

****Theme 40 - Centered around rumors of Ryou's family

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><p><strong>[Lucky]<strong>

"I heard his sister died in a car accident." "Well I heard she was run over…" "I heard he pushed her into the road!" "Did you know, his mom died of poisoning?" "You're a dumbass, she was just really sick." "Maybe his dad pushed the girl and poisoned the mom? I think I saw that on TV…" "Or, _maybe_ she was just _sick_." "Now, now, stop spreading rumors. With his sister gone, and his mother gone, and his father always traveling, he's lucky to be doing so well. Be nice to him." Lucky? ... This is why I stay at home.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	41. Group

****Theme 41 - Centered around Ryou's love/hate feelings about group work in school.

Thank you to the semi-anonymous review from "Mukila", but I regret to tell them that I cannot fully understand what they are saying. English is not my first language, I do not yet understand the abbreviations used in it.

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><p><strong>[Group]<strong>

He hated projects in class that required 'group work.' Admittedly, yes, he did like having a reason to talk to the other kids in his class, especially because whoever ended up in his group didn't usually have a problem with him, but at the same time, he didn't want to let himself get too friendly with them, or let them try to get too close to him, like asking to hang-out after school. Despite how desperately he wanted to connect, to feel needed and have someone to depend on too, he knew full-well by now that he couldn't risk it.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	42. Standing Still

****Theme 42 - Centered around Ryou's musings of perception

And thank you to Cadens Stella for the wonderful review. ^-^

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><p><strong>[Standing Still]<strong>

People brushed past him without a look, talking on their cellphones or hissing angry words to try and make their children hurry up. They whined to their group of gossipy girlfriends about their boyfriends, pushing past him without seeming to see him. And he just stood there, looking at the road, wondering what his sister had seen on the other side of it that enticed her to run out across it without looking. He stood still amidst the daily chaos and wondered if this was how invisible she had been when she'd been killed, unseen until it was too late.

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><p>Thank you for reading!<p> 


	43. Creation

****Theme 43 - Centered around Ryou's most impressive game, Monster World

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><p><strong>[Creation]<strong>

When he wasn't cooking, or doing homework, or just trying to quiet his own thoughts, he was sitting in his game room, working hard. It was the hobby that he devoted so much of his time to, so much effort and care, and, at times, sanity. Creating a new landscape, designing new characters, hand-crafting his own playable pieces and painting them with exquisite detail… Meticulous and talented, he was a creator of worlds, of stories and lives and… friends. Friends he would never and could never have in real life. Sometimes, reality blurred, and he would talk to them too.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	44. Dying

****Theme 44 - Centered around Ryou's mother dying in the hospital

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><p><strong>[Dying]<strong>

So many sounds. The chatter of nurses in other rooms, the patter of feet as medics rush down halls with rattling stretchers, and the soft _beep beep hiss click_ of the machines in his mother's room. A heart monitor, an oxygen mask, and a quiet click that he couldn't place. All these sounds stood between his mother and the Heaven her body sought so desperately, and he clung to them desperately despite his fear. He hated the sounds, but he would listen to them for the rest of his life, if that's what it took to keep her with him.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	45. Two Roads

****Theme 45 - Centered around Ryou's outdoor wanderings, and a gross, forgotten pond that reminds him of the sickness that killed his mother.

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><p><strong>[Two Roads]<strong>

There was a small, rarely-used path that lead to the park where Ryou would sometimes sit and sketch designs for Monster World. It was rough, and once branched off into a different road. That one led to a gunky, murky little pond that the city either didn't care about, or had simply forgotten and left to fester in this back corner of the world. He didn't like the pond. It reminded him of his world-forgotten mother, left to die in the hospital while treatments he couldn't afford were rushed to other patients around him. So he never went that way.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	46. Illusion

****Theme 46 - Centered around the girls that always flock to Ryou at his new schools, and how even though they annoy him, it hurts when they leave.

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><p><strong>[Illusion]<strong>

At every school he transferred to, there was always a gaggle of girls to fawn over him. He knew that they liked his unintentionally sweet smiles and his pretty hair, but later, as soon as they caught rumors of his friend's comas (which was always inevitable) they'd avoid him like the plague, giving him suspicious looks and refusing to admit they'd had anything to do with him. As shallow and superficial as their attention was, it always stung so painfully, like he'd lost something real, when they were gone. A broken illusion, a realized reality. He hated how it hurt.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	47. Family

****Theme 47 - Centered around Ryou trying to keep his family close, in an almost obsessive way.

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><p><strong>[Family]<strong>

There were pictures all over his house. Hung on the walls, sitting on end tables, stuck to the refrigerator, blanketing parts of the kitchen counter, some lying on the floor where they'd fallen, a couple tacked to the inside of the front door, and many folded in his backpack. Mother, father, self and baby sister, all displayed around the house, some laid carefully on pillows, some taped to the backs of the kitchen chairs. He would walk around before school and greet every one of them, and do the same when he got home. They were his family, after all.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	48. Waiting

****Theme 48 - Centered around how Ryou handled the time after Amane's death.

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><p><strong>[Waiting]<strong>

He remembered sitting in front of the television, watching his sister's favorite cartoons without seeing them, holding a stuffed bunny in his lap, his fingers clenched on its fluffy belly. His mother would check on him from time to time, feeling his forehead and gently offering him some food, but he would never respond. He was just sitting there, hearing the squeal of tires and the crunch of a huge metal beast colliding with a tiny body in his mind. He hadn't gone to school in a week. He was just sitting there. His sister would be home soon. Right?

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	49. Seeing Red

****Theme 49 - Centered around the only time Ryou has felt anything close to rage.

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><p><strong>[Seeing Red]<strong>

He wasn't an angry person. He was a broken, down-trodden, lonely boy, for whom smiling genuinely was an accomplishment and getting upset was something of a rarity. When someone pushed him down, instead of getting back up and pushing back, he'd just lay there till they went away. If someone yelled at him, instead of getting defensive, he'd just hang his head and take it. But he wasn't above anger. When his father refused to come home from Egypt in time for his mother's funeral, he felt himself bypass anger and go straight into a burning, if short-lived, vision-blinding hatred.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	50. Relaxation

****Theme 50 - Centered around the guilt Ryou feels whenever he tries to relax.

Woo! Halfway there!

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><p><strong>[Relaxation]<strong>

He couldn't ever relax, or be at peace. The only time he could enjoy himself was if he was working hard at something, like cooking or cleaning or making a new game. If he ever stopped, ever took a break to rest or relax properly, the thoughts of his absent father, and his dead mother and sister would haunt him. Were they resting? Did they have peace? Could they relax? And if they couldn't, if they were hurting and working and just so sad, what right did he have to obtain what they couldn't? How was that fair to them?

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	51. Give Up

****Theme 51 - Centered around Ryou's desire to follow the 'advice' he's been given, but is unable to.

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><p><strong>[Give Up]<strong>

It was a constant, running mantra in his mind. He'd heard it from the bullies that laughed it to his face, he'd heard it in the whispers behind his back, he'd heard it from his own aching heart. "Give up, just give up, you're not wanted, you're not needed, give up…" And he wanted to. Sometimes, he wanted to so badly it actually hurt. Some days, he just wanted to lay down and die, to make the pain stop, to end the bullying, to be with his sister and mother again. But he could never bring himself to end it.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	52. Food

****Theme 52 - Centered around Ryou's cooking talents.

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><p><strong>[Food]<strong>

He was excellent in the kitchen. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks, and anything in between; if he had the recipe and the supplies, he could make it. Sweets were his specialty, but that's because they'd always been his sister's favorites. Sometimes, he'd cook elaborate meals, and set the courses out on the table, along with a full set of dishes, but then sit down alone to eat just one portion, saving the leftovers for the rest of the week. He loved to cook full meals, for groups of people, but he never had anyone to end up eating them with.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	53. Absence

Theme 53 - Centered around post-series Ryou, after Yami Bakura is gone.

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><p><strong>[Absence]<strong>

Once he was able to hear his darker half's silky voice in his mind, he started to wonder if it would drive him insane. The constant snide little remarks, the backwards compliments, the laughter… It never stopped. It was always making some kind of degrading noise in the back of his mind. But…the day it left was the day he truly wondered if he'd lose his mind. After so long of listening to that insanity burning in his mind, he felt jagged, empty without it, as if he were missing a piece. It was the silence that nearly killed him.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	54. Drink

****Theme 54 - Centered around Ryou trying to follow his father's example of drinking away his worries.

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><p><strong>[Drink]<strong>

He remembered the funny smelling, amber liquid his father would sometimes drink after dinner when he got home from a particularly unsuccessful dig. It would slur his voice and make him say strange things, before he would just fall asleep in front of the TV. His mother explained that the grown-up drink helped his father manage stress and sadness and worry, and it helped him sleep. So, with his family gone, he decided to try it, a bit of what his father left behind to see if it helped. It tasted too foul for him to stomach even a mouthful.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	55. Heal

****Theme 55 - Centered around Ryou's reflection on injuries that bandages cannot help.

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><p><strong>[Heal]<strong>

Sometimes, he would sit and look at all of his little sister's dolls, all the nicely-dressed characters from her fantasies that he'd never had the heart to throw away after her death. Upon closer inspection one day, he noticed that some of the dolls had real bandages stuck to or wrapped around their limbs; no doubt to tend to imagined scraped knees or owies on elbows. He ran his fingers so gently over the smooth, clean bandages, and his heart would ache with the loss of his sister all over again. "If only all injuries were this simple to heal…"

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	56. When You Wish Upon A Star

****Theme 56 - Centered around Ryou's most desperate wish.

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><p><strong>[When You Wish Upon A Star]<strong>

Sometimes, when he heard on the news that there was a chance of a meteor shower being seen, he would stay out on his balcony all night, wrapped in a blanket, waiting for a glimpse of a falling star, to make a wish on it. "I wish for my family back." "I wish people didn't hate me." "I wish I could have friends." That was the most reoccurring one, especially during the school year. "I wish I could have friends." It was an impossible dream, he knew, but he still couldn't help clinging to it so miserably, year after year.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	57. Sports

Theme 57 - Centered around Ryou's experiences in Gym Class.

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><p><strong>[Sports]<strong>

He hated gym class. It wasn't that he was 'out of shape'; he could keep up with the majority of the class when it came to running laps and such. It was the games that he really detested. He didn't have a strong throwing arm, so any sport that required that made him miserable, and to top it off, he was the clumsiest in the class. He'd trip over his feet, over a ball, over someone else's feet, over what appeared to be nothing but air… And that, of course, lead to more ridicule. More teasing. More taunts. More tears.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	58. Last Hope

****Theme 58 - Centered around Ryou's arrival at Domino Public High School and his realization that the school will be his last attempt at a normal high school experience.

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><p><strong>[Last Hope]<strong>

He was ready to be done. He was tired of switching schools, secluding himself away until he was forced into contact with the other students, making a few friends, then having them end up in comas, flipping the switch that made the cycle repeat endlessly. He wanted it all to stop. So as he stood at the gates of this new public High School, watching the kids milling around near the doors in their bright blue uniforms, he knew. This was it. His last try. If this school's experience resulted the same as the rest, that would be the end.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	59. All That I Have

****Theme 59 - Centered around young Ryou waiting for his neglectful father's return and reflecting on the last gift he was given.

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><p><strong>[All That I Have]<strong>

He sat huddled on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. He watched the TV with wide, blank eyes, the bright screen illuminating the dark room. His mother was dead. He knew that. His sister, too. They had excuses to not be home with him. But where was his father? The phone call last week said he would be home by now. A glance down at his chest showed the ornate, golden ring his father had given him, gleaming in the light from the television. He touched it gently with two fingers. Was this all he had left of his family?

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	60. Stripes

****Theme 60 - Centered around Ryou going clothes shopping and discovering the blue-and-white-striped shirt he is seen wearing through parts of the series, and reflecting on why he chose it.

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><p><strong>[Stripes]<strong>

Contrast. Defined differences between here and there, then and now. No room for doubts or questions, no room for uncertainty or grey areas. There was blue. And there was white. There was the sky that watched his suffering so heartlessly. There was the white of his new-born baby sister's hair once the doctors had cleaned it off, so soft and innocent and pure. White. Blue. White. Blue. Alternating memories, alternating feelings, but they were clear and certain and solid. No doubts. Just focus. Happiness. Pain. Happiness. Pain. He looked at the shirt for a long time before finally buying it.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	61. Breaking The Rules

****Theme 61 - Centered around Ryou's long hair and the conflicts it creates with the dress code at his schools.

Thank you to Ryou67 for reviewing my story, and since they do not have an account, I will reply to them there. Thank you for suggesting many other themes, however, I already have a list laid out for Ryou's section. And many of the themes I see on the list you suggested I have from various other lists as well, that I may use for other characters in the future. I appreciate your input, however, I would request that if you review again, it be constructive feedback about the story itself. Thank you.

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><p><strong>[Breaking The Rules]<strong>

At almost every school he went to, he broke the rules. Not necessarily 'intentionally', but it always happened. Most teachers didn't really mind it; some would warn him, or scold him, but then give up trying when nothing changed. Some teachers got really angry though, and he tried to avoid them, because he refused to change his ways. Many of the schools he attended had dress-code requirements about how one was to wear their hair, and Ryou refused to cut it short to the 'appropriate' length, keeping his promise to his sister, who had always liked his long, soft hair.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


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